Keeping Up with the Kids

Managing a household when you have a family can seem like a daunting task. It has famously been said that trying to do clean up your house while the kids are still growing is like shovelling snow in a blizzard. Impossible as it seems – how best to stay on top of housework is a problem commonly faced by parents all over the world. In this age of digital connectedness, it is almost guaranteed that you have someone on your news feed who is always despairing about some lengthy to-do list, wondering how they are going to fit it all in. This has not gone unnoticed by the gods of the technological realm. They identified a gap in the market, realising that many people seem to need some help in making a plan to keep on top of their day to day chores. And now, there is an app for that. In fact, there are several. Below you will find details of some of the best digital tools aimed at helping you to run your home.

Topping the list is HomeRoutines by Wunderbear. This app designed to be appreciated by a universal audience, whether you live alone, you’re a student in shared accommodation, or you live in a family household with kids. The one thing all good homemakers agree upon is that in order to stay on top of things – you will need a plan. HomeRoutines develops a detailed plan for you, assigning tasks to different days of the week and breaking them down into morning and evening chores. One of the best features of HomeRoutines is the “Focus Zones,” through which different areas within the home are assigned specific days for cleaning. By breaking the workload down into well scheduled smaller chunks, HomeRoutines makes staying on top of the chores a breeze.

This app is designed to help you manage a household with children. It aims to motivate the kids to help with the housework by making it into a game. The parent takes on the role of referee, while the kids choose avatars to represent themselves in the digital world. The referee is able to set rewards and assign costs to them. The cost of any reward will be specified in terms of gold coins, which are earned through the app by completing chores around the house. When your child has earned enough coins, they can trade them in for the reward of their choice. The referee has a passcode, and this is required in order to redeem coins against rewards, putting a stop to any potential cheating.

The best of the free chore management apps is iRewardChart. Similarly to You Rule Chores, it allows rewards to be earned by completing tasks and – in this case – earning gold stars. The app is very user-friendly, with a simple and attractive user interface. You can input details of every member of the household and assign them tasks. Each child can log in and look at their profile, which will tell them what chores they have been assigned and when they need to be completed by. Each completed task earns a gold star. The head of the household sets rewards and determines how many stars are required to claim them. This app works great in households with multiple adult occupiers, such as shared student accommodation, or even just as a personal motivation tool if you live alone, as well as for kids.